GARY van Egmond led the Newcastle Jets to their sole A-League men's title and now the experienced coach is focused on achieving the same success with the women's team.
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And he plans to get a few Matildas to help him.
Van Egmond was on Tuesday appointed coach of the women's program for the 2023-24 season.
The 57-year-old, who is also in charge of the Jets academy, has been caretaker coach since Ash Wilson departed last month.
"It has been great for me to be involved with the team in the back end of the season," said van Egmond, who steered the men's side to a championship in 2008. "I have been able to see the players first hand, the staff first hand and review it from within."
With two games of this season remaining, the Jets are in 10th spot on 11 points.
The club hasn't played in the finals since 2017-18, when van Egmond's daughter and Matildas midfielder Emily was leading the way.
"It can turn around pretty quickly from the perspective of who is in the squad and who you are looking to recruit," van Egmond said. "I'm fairly fortunate to have been involved with the Future Matildas, Young Matildas, and Matildas for a number of years. The contacts that I have made in that period will benefit me and the club. We will be looking at who we can bring in from an international and local perspective. Those discussions are already starting. We will be extremely disappointed if we don't make the finals next year."
A priority will be luring Newcastle players home. The 2023-24 campaign follows the FIFA Women's World Cup which is being held in Australia and New Zealand
Emily van Egmond plays with the San Diego Wave in the USA, Clare Wheeler is in England at Everton and other players are scattered through Europe.
"Clare would be a little more difficult given she is at Everton and her season runs nearly concurrently with ours," van Egmond said. "Emily's season finishes a little earlier. There are other players in the national team who I have good relationships with. There are a couple of players playing interstate. Some of them have already been contacted.
"The model for us is really a home-grown model. Are we in a position to do that in season one? No we are not. We need to develop that area but we also need to ensure we have a very, very competitive team next year."
The addition of the Central Coast next season increases the competition to a 22-round home-and-away season, plus finals.
"We are looking at a 35-week competition, including preseason," van Egmond said. "It's a serious comp."
Van Egmond will conduct a full review at the end of the season, but has already identified a couple of key areas to improve.
"We have conceded a number of goals this year," he said. "That is an area we need to look at. That is not just a back line, it is a whole of team process. Improving our depth is a big issue for us."
James Gardiner
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
